you've got a friend in me (c)

Echosong had yet to figure out how he felt about Windclan since their previous medicine cat had acted out.. to say the least. But Windclan had been through immense change and hardships especially over the past three moons, he couldn't help but feel bad for Daisypaw, she was thrown into the role without any training and there weren't many Windclanners with herbal knowledge.

Without asking the lanky white tom approached the Windclanners and pushed through the crowd without so much of an 'excuse me'.

He was on a mission after all.

It wasn't hard to find Daisypaw, surrounded by sick cats of all ages and severity.

"Daisypaw, I'm Echosong. Do you need any assistance?" he tilted his head. Fawnshine could take care of Thunderclan and Echosong was feeling next to normal - save for a small cough every now and then.

Daisypaw blinked, realizing she’d been staring at the herbs in front of her for too long. Her chest felt numb, like someone had dipped each of her ribs in ice water, it was clawing at her throat, trying to suffocate her. Maybe she should rest, but the thought of curling up in her nest made her feel sick. Under the sharp tang of blood and sickness, it still smelled like Berrypaw.

She turned as an unfamiliar pelt parted the undergrowth tangled around the entrance. Most of WindClan’s new camp by the lake was open, those healthy enough preferring to sleep under the stars, but Molehill had worked hard to dig out a big enough den under some bushes where it was warm and sheltered enough for the sick. The tom was not one of her clanmates, but the herb-scent clinging to his pelt gave him away.  “One of ThunderClan’s medicine cats, right?” She purred raspily. Her pelt was thin and seemed to hang off her broad shoulders, the points of her hip bones and spine were just beginning to poke out from under her thinning fur. She glanced back at her clanmates, their dull eyes and unsteady breaths.  “I hope ThunderClan has fared better than us. Everything I’ve tried never lasts. I’d be grateful for any guidance at this point.” She blinked her thanks at Echosong, beckoning him over to the herb stores with a welcoming flick of her white-tipped tail.

“I gave Tigerdance some lavender, mainly for the recent stress, but it seemed to help the cough and fatigue a bit as well, so I’ve started rubbing it on sick cats’ chests and using it to line nests. It helps ease their breathing for a short while, at least.”  She curled her tail around her paws, pausing to catch her breath as her lungs squeezed. The effort it took to breathe, even shallowly, was exhausting. ”Coneflower and Ragweed seem to help as well, but I don’t know where to go from there.” She managed in a pained wheeze, but kept her head up, stubbornly breathing through the adder fangs that grabbed at her chest. She glanced up at the pale tom, a fresh spark of hope in her eyes. Echosong had more knowledge, more experience, maybe he had discovered something she had yet to stumble across.

Echosong shook his pelt, the spot Windclan had chosen was not at all the toms style - he always felt so exposed when there wasn't a canopy of trees over his head. Though he supposed the bushes they had made into a den was quite nice, and Echosong had never been bothered by the pointed looks of others. He offered a dip of his head, "Yes yes." he responded as his icy blue orbs flickered over her state of being, then to that of her clanmates who weren't much different. Echosong couldn't hide the sympathy in his eyes as he returned his gaze to Daisypaw. Thunderclan had lost quite a few to the sickness but he didn't feel comfortable enough with sharing exact numbers so instead he simply shrugged and followed deeper into the room.

The herbal scent filled his nose, some familiar like the ragweed, lavender and borage, and others not so much.

"Hmm, at this point it has been a lot of trial and error, we started off by trying an amalgamation of different herbs just desperately trying to see if they worked or not." the tom admitted, gracefully taking a seat. The tom was healthy, there was much more prey these days and he didn't seem effected by the sickness - it was curious to him how each of those who were at the Cutter's with him all those moons ago were totally, completely, unaffected. But that was a theory for another day. "We've noted that garlic, tormentil and coneflower together with the ragweed has been quite successful. For those with hallucinations and general deliruim the garlic, tormentil and ragweed has been the main herbal blend." he added pulling the leaf bundle he had brought with him out from behind his back, "The coneflower we are thinking is working well with the lavender to soothe the cough. I spoke with the elders and in the past we have used burdock root for poisions and sicknesses so we added that to several of our mixtures and have also noted great improvements."

Echosong blinked at her mention of Tigerdance, it wasn't a secret that Smallstar was not with Windclan, "Yes, lavender in their nests is a good idea, I used to have it woven into the entrance of the medicine den back home." he spoke, a wistful tone entering his voice. The lake area was nice, but it just wasn't the same. He knew there were many cats that could say the same. Echosong shook his head, "Anyways, if you would like to trade..we have some garlic if you could share some of this fluffy looking plant you have?" he asked, taking a sniff of the lambs ear. He hadn't seen this before and if he did he couldn't for the life of him figure out its name.

She nodded along, listening intently to the pale tom’s suggestions.  “Burdockroot is interesting, I wouldn’t have guessed that. i’ll have to start incorporating it since I have some.” The grey and white she-cat smiled softly at the thought of ThunderClan’s medicine den, bright lavender blooms beckoning from the shade of the trees.  “I bet the lavender made the den very welcoming, it always reminds me of my mother, given it’s her namesake.” She gently nudged the Lamb’s Ear out of its place, the leaves soft against her chilled pads.  “It’s called Lamb’s Ear. Smallstar said it was mainly used for regaining strength, and sometimes put in traveling herbs. It may help with the weakness and fatigue.” She separated a portion of it, and presented it to Echosong.  “You're welcome to it, I’d appreciate the garlic, I don’t have any in the stores here, and I’ve had little luck with finding anything else useful.”

Echosong didn't hesitate when he pushed the garlic towards the younger mollt and in turn took the lambs ear. "Thank you, Daisypaw. Thunderclan thanks you. We won't forget this." he meowed, a smile on his maw before he grasped his herb bundles and got to his paws. It was getting dark and it was quite the journey around the lake from the cliffs of Windclan to the inlet of woods that Thunderclan had settled on.

"Again, thank you." The medicine cat meowed before slinking from the camp, careful not to bother anyone else.